It is generally accepted that a proper backswing begins with a golfer gripping a golf club and placing the club directly behind the golf ball or “target.” The golfer is now positioned at “address,” i.e., in a ready and balanced stance with both knees slightly flexed and with the golfer's weight evenly distributed between the balls of both feet. The golf club then is taken away in a slow, continuous movement where the arms and shoulders move the golf club first away from the ball and then up and around the axis of the spine. As the shoulders rotate, they pull on the hips to rotate, away from the target.
Also during the backswing, the golfer's lead knee (left knee for a right-handed golfer) flexes, and moves slightly forward and then moves downward toward the trailing foot (right foot for a right-handed golfer). However, few modern day golf instructors concentrate on the importance of the correct movement of the lead knee during medium to full swings of a golf club. In the “Five Lessons: The Fundamentals of Golf,” for example, Ben Hogan devotes only three short sentences about the movement of the lead knee during the backswing. The lead knee position at the end of the golfer's backswing, if done properly, results in an optimal upper body rotation around a stable trailing leg (right leg for a right-handed golfer). A powerful and controlled backswing, precise golf ball compression, and an accurate golf shot may be achieved. Conversely, abnormal lead knee motion during the backswing can result in injury and many serious errors that produce errant golf shots and frustration.
Prior solutions to train golfers have claimed to teach the correct backswing during medium and full swings of the golf club. These devices claim to teach prevention of reverse pivoting, excessive dipping of the knees, lateral swaying, over rotation of the spine, and the straightening of the knees during the backswing, each by means of a negative feedback alert.
However, the present inventor has recognized that previous training devices are deficient. There remains a need for improved training devices.